Goodbye, Joe

Joe Paterno was fired by telephone last night by the Penn State Board of Trustees. His unprecedented career at Penn State spanned over 60 years, 46 as head coach.

Earlier yesterday, Paterno had announced his retirement, effective at the end of the current season. I was relieved that he would be able to make a dignified exit.

“I am disappointed with the Board of Trustees’ decision, but I have to accept it.” —Joe Paterno

What I didn’t realize at that time was that Paterno had made his retirement decision unilaterally, without even consulting with the president or the Board of Trustees, even though the BOT had announced earlier that it would be deciding on Paterno and Spanier’s fate at a meeting that same evening. Paterno hired a PR agency to couch his retirement statement, which was intended as a pre-emptive strike designed to obviate the need for BOT action on his case. As usual, he was making it clear that he would decide when it was time to go — he and no one else. In his statement, he even asserted that the board did not have to waste time deliberating on their decision about him as planned; their time would be better applied to more important matters.

If ever there was a way to sway trustees who were teetering on the brink of letting Paterno play out the season, this was it! His long history of defiance is well known in connection with the 2004 attempted firing fiasco. Spanier and Curley showed up at his door to dump him, and he sent them home with their tail between their legs. In Joe’s mind, it is his football program.

My first reaction to the immediate firing was anger. Why not let him finish as he wants to? With dignity?

That turned to sadness. Something that had been a big part of my life for the past 47 years was going away abruptly, and I wouldn’t even have time to adjust to it. I felt for Joe and Sue. I couldn’t fathom the hard-ass posture of the BOT.

Then, I thought of the victims of Sandusky’s alleged perverted activities and Joe’s inaction. I had always felt that Joe’s humanitarianism was above reproach. However, even he admitted that in retrospect, he should have handled things differently. Damn straight he should have! I felt that it was appropriate for others to be sent a message that no one is immune from being punished for making awful mistakes. General Patton, perhaps the greatest field commander ever, lost his command for having slapped one lowly GI. The court of public opinion did in both Paterno and Patton.

At last, I reluctantly accepted the BOT’s action. No matter whose idea the cover-up was, Paterno had gone along with it. People who rationalize that he was just following orders aren’t thinking straight. Joe, as demonstrated by his pre-emptive strike on the BOT, is his own man. Anyone who can defy the president and the BOT with respect to deciding the terms of his departure could have surely done the same with the victims in mind. Instead, he allowed Sandusky, who he knew to be a pervert, to continue with business as usual. That sort of benign neglect demands punishment.

I was content to know that Joe was not alone in being fired for inaction on the Sandusky case. President Graham Spanier was fired, too, or to couch it in the official language of the day, his resignation was accepted. I won’t dwell on that here, because this is a football blog. All I have to say is that the buck did indeed stop there.

I still can’t fathom why Paterno would leave a situation like this alone. But that is juice for him to stew in for the rest of his life. Perhaps, he will write a “tell all” book or appear in a “60 Minutes” interview some day and will let us all know what happened. Until then, or until ongoing investigations dig up all of the facts, we’re left to guess about what happened, filling in the details in our minds. Unfortunately, our minds can be lazy from time to time, so we allow those unknown details to be filled in by the national media. That ain’t good. They know as much as we know.

Joe Paterno was an accomplished hero not only on the football field but also in the arena of life. It is a shame that such a distinguished career has to end this way. I’m back to being sad, but I acknowledge the need for the change.

Joe was a part of me. This whole affair has sickened me. Joe’s legacy is tainted indelibly.

I think that I’ll close with an open letter written to Joe Paterno from former Nittany Lion lineman A.Q. Shipley, which captures how many of Joe’s present and former players feel about him:

Dear Coach Paterno,

It was an absolute honor when you gave me the opportunity, and it was just that, an opportunity to play for you at Penn State. You did not guarantee anything when you presented me with a scholarship except that you would be a teacher and a mentor and give me a chance to succeed athletically and academically! It was more than an honor to have been a captain on your 2008 Big Ten championship team and be a part of your program for 5 years. I came to PSU a boy and left a man due to the values you instilled in all of us. I learned so much from you in my years at Penn State that go so far beyond playing football. You have been a leader in the community for so many years and have touched the lives of so many people. I am proud to have played for you and to have received my degree from Penn State University and that is all because you gave me an opportunity. You are an amazing father, mentor, teacher, educator, coach and most importantly man. I guess the two most important words i need to say to you are Thank You.

Comments

We are often remembered for our worst moments, not our best. This too is Joe’s fate. As you’ve noted previously, Joe was a man of action. The fact that he not only didn’t take action, but the fact that he actively participated in a cover-up AND FACILITATED this criminal activity over the last 9 years is criminal. Imagine if you knew someone was molesting kids in your vacation home, and you let it go on for 10 years, providing him the keys, and off hour access. (Based on what I’ve read on your blog, I know you wouldn’t stand for it.) I hope Joe spends the rest of his days in prison – as he should.

Finally, someone who actually reads what I’ve said and can engage in complex, abstract thought. Tom, my hat is off to you for a fair and cogent comment expressing your opinion.

However, I must take issue with your characterization of the facts. This doesn’t mean that I’m defending Joe. I just need to play devil’s advocate.

I still want to know what REALLY went on there. Do we know that Joe didn’t go to the police and wind up getting rebuffed because they had already been “bought” by the upper echelons at Penn State? I mean, that’s way out in left field, but remember that the 1998 allegations against Sandusky never resulted in any action, even though the police had the information and an eyewitness (the janitor). And the district attorney for Centre County somehow vanished from the scene around then. I’m very interested in how deep the cover up went and whether the police and the prosecutor were actually involved at any point. (But I can’t seem to get anyone to discuss that intelligently, because they assume that I’m defending McQueary and Paterno and just want to hurl insults.) As far as information about this whole sad situation is concerned, we’ve only scratched the surface. I wish we could get some actual signal above the noise floor.

Until I know what really went on, I won’t agree with you that he should go to jail. He’s still innocent until proven guilty, and this might not be as much of a slam-dunk as everybody assumes it is.

However, if the rumor that Paterno hired a criminal defense attorney turns out to be true, it would add fuel to the fire.

Ok, I have many mixed emotion about what’s happening at Penn State Right now. So, here’s what I think…..for whatever it’s worth.

The actions of our beloved president, coach, and athletic director have shaken our program to the core and have threatened our faith in humanity.

We’re shocked that someone we idolized could have done something so stupid, so selfish, so infuriatingly contradictory to the values he spent decades promoting. To watch someone you admire, who did more good in a week than most of us do in our entire lifetimes get publicly shamed, and forced out under the cover of darkness is hard to take. To see a legacy irrevocably stained and treasured accomplishments tarnished. To have one person’s mistakes drag our university’s good name through the mud. To be labeled an accomplice to the crime by virtue of our fan allegiances, is horrible.

As I was driving to work this morning, I heard one of our own call in to a radio show and explain that he didn’t know how he was going to unapologetically put on the Blue and White and sing “Fight On, State” this Saturday. He’s not the only one to express that sentiment.

This is what I want to say to you. We are not Joe Paterno. We are not Tim Curley. We are not Gary Schultz. We are not Graham Spanier, and We are sure as hell not Jerry Sandusky.

We are…….PENN STATE!

Their alleged sins are not our own. They may be the most recognizable faces of our beloved program, but they are not Penn State. They are not a 156 year old center of higher learning. They are not a century of football tradition. Their flaws cannot eclipse the innumerable scientific, artistic, and humanitarian contributions our university, and its 44,000 students and 570,000 living alumni have made and will continue to make to the world at large.

The spirit of a program, of a university, and of a state is so much bigger than any one person.

So do yourself a favor, and stop thinking about Joe Paterno. No amount of discussion can change what happened, and his bed is made for better or worse. Recognize that only time can tell how he will be remembered. (For what it’s worth, I hope beyond hope that the facts turn out favorably for him.) Say a prayer for the children, and on Saturday, put on your Silas Redd jersey, brave the cold, and cheer your ass off for our team.

Not because you support the coaches, because you support the men on the field. Not because you endorse the administration, because you believe in the University as a collective whole.

Penn State University has always been (and will always be) about one thing and one thing only: making life better.

It’s not just a motto, it’s a mission. And we’re still a part of that.

I have no connection to Penn State but I have been following the happenings over the last week. As a professor in higher academia, I agree with blogger Ron Amar. Sports is such a huge focus in U.S. colleges and universities and it brings in, I assume, a mammoth amount of money . As such the “heros”, like Paterno, that contribute to all that plus the glory of a great football history, achieve sainthood and see themselves wrapped in teflon, calling their own shots and not thinking beyond their own little world (example, Tiger Woods). However, the purpose of a higher education facility is to educate the next generation, to make them critical thinkers, to enable them to grow in body, mind, and spirit in both academic and non academic ways, to achieve self understanding and awareness, to facilitate their quest to contribute positively to society and hopefully, in their own way, make the world a better place. As Ron stated, Penn State, or any university for that matter, is much more than the indiscretions of a few self serving cowards no matter how heinous the crime. And this is not to forget or trivialize the sufferings of the victims in any way.
This is what I feel Penn Staters should be focusing on as time moves forward — all the legacy of greatness that exits outside the scandal and the hope for tomorrow. This legacy and the future will eventually shine stronger than the sins of men who did not have the guts to step up to the plate and squelch those horrifying situations of man’s inhumanity to man to which they were privy. And of course, the greatest crime of all is the alleged perpetrator. He seems to be lost in the media thrust surrounding the university.

I agree with you that Ron Amar’s cogent comments deserve a wider audience. I’ll try to make that happen.

I further agree that Sandusky has been relegated to the back burner by the media. He’s the monster who allegedly perpetrated the unthinkable crimes against humanity, which were allegedly facilitated by the benign neglect of the University. I suppose mention of Paterno sells more TV advertising and newspapers than do mentions of Sandusky.

For that matter, how many people out the extended Penn State community know the name of the university president who was fired along with Paterno? Writing about changes at the top echelon of the ivory tower doesn’t sell newspapers, either.

It’s all about money, Lizzie. We all know it. Not only the media, but also the University. The football program is a billion dollar business. As long as Paterno was an asset, generating funds through ticket and TV sales, raising money through private contributions, etc., he could do no wrong. He even succeeded in telling the president and the athletic director to go home when they visited his house for the purpose of firing him in 2004. However, now he has become a liability to the University. No doubt, many of the private donors are angry about his alleged role in the cover-up. The Board of Trustees obviously wanted to cut their losses.

It is a shame that education sometimes takes a backseat to athletics. For example, the university at which I worked for 13 years allowed graduate teaching assistants to teach senior level courses, courses they themselves had just taken the prior year, in order to be able to pump more students through the system. But I digress.

Thanks for the intelligent comments, Lizzie. I hope those who happen by here take the time to read them.

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